ACEC/Alabama One Step Closer to QBS

Montgomery, Alabama - The American Consulting Engineers Council of Alabama (ACECA) has had to battle several competitive bid bills during the Regular & Special Legislative Sessions of 2001, but the debate recently peeked in Alabama's third special legislative session as several bills were introduced that would have required professional services to be procured on a low bid basis. Upon the introduction of anti-QBS legislation, ACECA quickly launched a grassroots campaign and began building a coalition to help in the fight. In addition, ACECA hired a lawyer, to assist them in drafting the QBS language. ACECA also used ACEC National as a resource in the battle.

"The passage of this legislation represents a huge victory for the engineering profession in Alabama. We were able to turn a potentially disastrous piece of legislation around. Through the passage of this bill, we managed to preserve the integrity of our Code of Ethics, and establish a mini-QBS law for the engineering profession in our state," said Alabama Executive Director Renee Casillas. Casillas also said, "In the long run, QBS will save the state money while ensuring the quality of our public infrastructure projects."

The Alabama Engineering Community is to be commended for their hard work in getting Senate Bill 75 passed. Special thanks goes to Don Arkle (Chairman, ASCE), Pat Christians (ASPE), Ashley Cousins (TTL, Inc.), Regina Dinger (Alabama Board of Licensure), David Fuqua (QORE Property Sciences), Ann Galloway (ASPLS), Frank McPhillips (Maynard Cooper & Gale), Bob Portera (Gresham Smith & Partners), and H. Kenneth White (HK White & Associates) for their assistance in this tremendous effort.